Recent content by koki

Tim, I'm planning to install a bunch of palms from seed I grew from Jim and Judy several years back. The install is on Big Pine Key at my in-laws place. (There is a new house going up next to them and they want privacy.) Jim said you might be interested in this type of work. My phone is...

I've found them to be pesty in Tampa.

Got to love the palms and cycads. Really a lot of different varieties for whatever application, and they are generally slow/low maintenance. Can't rule out anything that smells good. Osmanthus fragrans, chameadorea fragrans, and sweet almond can be added to the list above. Native plants, so...

When possible before mulching, I'll trim a bunch of palms that have fan shaped leaves, such as thrinax radiata or cocothrinax. Cut the base above the stem so they will lay flat on the ground, then layer them on the ground in the area to be mulched. Then completely cover the palm fronds with...

Crime doesn't pay. The perp will eventually see this or maybe worse. People are generous with plants, it only takes patience to get what you like. Video cameras are the way of the future, so fortunately this kind of petty theft will soon have more nails in the coffin.

Looks a little like Phillip Geduldig.

If you put them under decaying palm fronds and/or mulch, and forget about them, they will emerge in about a year. Once they emerge separate the seeds. Rate of growth is slow but steady. These cycads are bullet proof, but I prefer the smaller relative "coontie". Especially useful if you have...

Nothing says Key West more than a picket fence. I don't think there is a place on earth with as many picket fences.

What is the best way to control a wide variety of ants? I have noticed them all over, at the base of every bush and in every palm. I know I will never be able to completely irradicate them but I would like to do something that will set them back quite a bit.

When we work in the yard he is sure we are actually looking for lizards.

I like that medium sized (4-6"), dark green mondo grass that could work well for the one foot adjacent the driveway. Some areas could be made wider. I recently bought 300 1gal. at Mid Florida Nursery, better quality and cheaper than the big box stores.

Is there access to the back yard on this side of the house? If your driveway will normally have two cars parked wide, you may want to keep access on the side for yard waste and trash barrels. Whether or not you'll be using this for utility makes a difference.

My neighbor has a 'shooting star' clerodendrum that is loaded with white fly, but there is none on the other plants that were infested last year, like banana, avocado, gumbo limbo. The clerodendrum will get the heave-ho on yard waste day.

You are forgetting about the top of the mountain! What a beautiful sight to see snow through coconut palms.

This would be no surprise to anyone who has lived on the Big Island.